Miscellaneous Hacks - Rotating Banner System

With the Rotating Banner System software, you may publish literally anywhere standard banners and advertising, with no restriction but your imagination. Unlike many other products, it allows to show an unlimited amount of banners and advertising, which are randomly shown at the places you choose, and you may refer generically to an Ad by using specific placeholders.

Also the management is straight-forward and simple to use. Forum administrators with maintenance rights may add, edit and delete records from the Administration Control Panel (ACP), one of each representing a banner. After saving the new banner settings, they are immediately visible at your board.

Compatibility: from vBulletin 3.6.5 onwards

By the way, I do also install the hack on your boards, but since I am very, very busy, it may take some time (weeks) until it gets done.


Tutorials:

• How-to create my first banner (Flash).

Updates:

• 2.0.1: Simple click tracker added, HTML help included.
• 2.0.3: Small bug fixes; additional banner list, navigation bar, E-Mail field for banner event notifications and automatic save on scroll setting; absolute URL to rbs_banner.php in order to allow click tracking on non-standard pages; supported languages: English, Italian; Help file clean-up.
• 2.0.5: Small bug fixes; additional details in banner list; email notification for epired banners.
• 2.0.6: vbCMS compatibility bug fix; additional banner lists.
• 2.0.7: Usergroups filter: now it is possible to define a list of usergroups which may show a banner; additional vbCMS compatibility bug fix.
• 2.0.8: Various fixes and most of all, inclusion of the right files: admin_rbs.php, cpnav_rbs.xml
• 2.0.9: Extra comma fix in new record creation.
• 2.1.0: Fix for an occasional banner type selection bug, when the sample banners have been deleted or disabled.
• 2.2.0 (Major upgrade): Up to 10 different banner locations. Requires changes to your existing placeholders in your templates, since a more generic format has been chosen. If you don't need more than 2 different locations, you don't need to upgrade. Changed files: rbs_banner.php, admin_rbs.php
• 2.2.1: Minor bug fix in files: admin_rbs_h_banner_list.php, admin_rbs_v_banner_list.php
• 2.2.1: Hotfix for Max Clicks saving bug.
• 2.2.2: More listings and less files. PDF Help. Separate Italian add-ons and help. Duplicate button.
• 2.2.3: Minor bug fixes. Changed files: product-rbs.xml
• 2.2.4: Flash Banner support (beta). Changed files: product-rbs.xml, rbs_wrapper.swf, admin_rbs.php, English Help.
• 2.2.5: Hotfix for vBulletin 4.0.2 compatibility bug.
• 2.2.6: Checking for installed Flash Wrapper rbs_wrapper.swf; A few English FAQ; Help files. Changed files: product-rbs.xml
• 2.3.0 (Major upgrade): New modules: Delete Expired Banners, Disable Expired Banners; Detail Banner Statistics with unique access key for your customers; Updated help; Changed files: all.
• 2.3.1: Hotfix for missing field in rbs_hist table. Changed files: none, just update product.
• 2.3.2: Added: Unsupported option for setting any number of available positions between 1 and big bang. Fixed: Small bug and speed issues. Removed: Italian translation. Italians may now request support at www.vbulletin.it. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.
• 2.3.3: Fix: Copy selected forum ID's during banner duplication. Changed: start and end hours for new banners are set to 0:00 and 23:59 respectively. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.
• 2.3.4: Option: Send Mail Before. This option allows to schedule expiring banners differently. New variables for emails: $rbs_enddate: This variable holds the formatted banner ending date and time based on the standard formats for date and time in vBulletin settings; $rbs_name: This variable holds the banner name. EMail Notifications option description: Added direct links to the email phrases for quick changes. Changed files: rbs_mail_cron.php.
• 2.4.0 (Major upgrade): Removed: Option to enable or disable mailing. Banners with email addresses to notify are handled. Setting to reset mailing in single banners. Now, if mailing should be repeated, you will have to edit the banner from phpMyAdmin. Added: Order links in lists. The initial state is ordered by ID, as before. By clicking the titles, the other voices can be ordered. Clicking twice inverts the order. This works in all lists. Options to prevent counting and reducing thus a tiny bit of load. A new bunch of demo banners for new installations. Demo banners are locked into database in order to avoid 30% of the questions because of the 'experts' deleting them before trying the product. They can be disabled and modified though. The true experts can delete them after all testing from the database by using phpMyAdmin without side effects. Changes: Phrase for emailing about expiring banners, now also with direct links to the phrases. Demo banners. Our old publisher ID is replaced with the new ones, and old demo banners are updated with the new ones, if found. The functions have been exported to includes/functions_rbs.php. This makes the product code smaller and easier to maintain, and runs faster on sites where caching/acceleration is enabled. Changed Files: all *.php
• 2.4.1: Option Likelihood. This new option adds a weight to banners and allows thus to show one banner more often than another. The default weight is 100%. We also make sure that the final date of the default banners falls into a valid range. Changed files: includes/functions_rbs.php and rbs_stats.php.
• 2.4.2: Workaround for update sequence problems.

Hacks and unsupported add-ons:

• Banner Rotator Widget To CMS
• Rotate banners in-place
• Italian Translation

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by motorola

Works this on 4.1.0 PL2 ? I cant see any banners show up

I can't tell yet.

[motorola]

It works finally for me. So to show random two or more banners I must add every banner in a different position and then i should add the code e.g <!--@vbbanners:0@--><!--@vbbanners:2@--><!--@vbbanners:4@--> or is it possible to put the banners in a single position and to show them random?

Also how can I make the banners to change after x seconds?

Thank you for this wonderfull mod

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by motorola

It works finally for me. So to show random two or more banners I must add every banner in a different position and then i should add the code e.g <!--@vbbanners:0@--><!--@vbbanners:2@--><!--@vbbanners:4@--> or is it possible to put the banners in a single position and to show them random?

Also how can I make the banners to change after x seconds?


Thank you for this wonderfull mod

You may use one position for more banners - it was designed to rotare all available banners in that one position

Please look back for some posts (I belive #989) for the unofficial x seconds hack ...

[CybaGirl]

Any idea as to what is going on with my issue posted on the previous page?

Ok seem to have noticed a small problem in where when you click on a banner it loads the URL that it is suppose to as indicated in the control panel setting for the banner. But at the same time it loads another page that displays just the banner on it's own.

Thanks.

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by motorola

Works this on 4.1.0 PL2 ? I cant see any banners show up

Yes, it does work on 4.1.0 PL2.

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by CybaGirl

Any idea as to what is going on with my issue posted on the previous page?

Ok seem to have noticed a small problem in where when you click on a banner it loads the URL that it is suppose to as indicated in the control panel setting for the banner. But at the same time it loads another page that displays just the banner on it's own.

Thanks.

I guess you have a script in your banner which works that way.

[CybaGirl]

Hi and thanks for getting back to me.

No script or url is used in the banner itself.

The only URL is the the one that is entered into the URL field in the banner configuration page.

Ok I took out the URL listed in the banner configuration page and when you now click on the banner it goes to the following address.

http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5

How is this possible when no URL is listed on the banner configuration page nor in the banner itself?

Ok just edited a banner to include a URL so that when you click on it you are taken the URL. But for some unknown reason it doesn't open the URL it is still opening the rbs_banner.php?id=5 .

I viewed the source code of the page and this is what it lists.

	<div class="ad_global_header">
		<br><br><br>
<div align="center"><table>
<tr>
    <td><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0" border="0"  width="468" height="60"><param name="movie" value="http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_wrapper.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="banner=http://www.kawariders.com.au/images/banners/jds-1.swf&jlink=http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5&userid=7859&bwidth=468&bheight=60"/><embed src="http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_wrapper.swf" FlashVars="banner=http://www.kawariders.com.au/images/banners/jds-1.swf&jlink=http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5&userid=7859&bwidth=468&bheight=60" loop="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/get/flashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"  width="468" height="60"></embed></object></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>

Any idea as to why it is still linking to this http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5 for?

The only time it doesn't link to this address is when I enter in a URL in the banner configuration page where it says.

URL
If you are using an Image banner, please insert here the destination URL.

But then I have the problem of when you click on the banner it loads the banner in a new page as well as the URL in another new page.



Thanks.

[motorola]

Originally Posted by y2ksw

You may use one position for more banners - it was designed to rotare all available banners in that one position

Please look back for some posts (I belive #989) for the unofficial x seconds hack ...

I've put 2 banners in a position and the second banner appear bellow the first one. ( I put the code in the text field, its right in this way?)

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by CybaGirl

Hi and thanks for getting back to me.

No script or url is used in the banner itself.

The only URL is the the one that is entered into the URL field in the banner configuration page.

Ok I took out the URL listed in the banner configuration page and when you now click on the banner it goes to the following address.

http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5

How is this possible when no URL is listed on the banner configuration page nor in the banner itself?

Ok just edited a banner to include a URL so that when you click on it you are taken the URL. But for some unknown reason it doesn't open the URL it is still opening the rbs_banner.php?id=5 .

I viewed the source code of the page and this is what it lists.

    <div class="ad_global_header">
        <br><br><br>
<div align="center"><table>
<tr>
    <td><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0" border="0"  width="468" height="60"><param name="movie" value="http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_wrapper.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="banner=http://www.kawariders.com.au/images/banners/jds-1.swf&jlink=http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5&userid=7859&bwidth=468&bheight=60"/><embed src="http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_wrapper.swf" FlashVars="banner=http://www.kawariders.com.au/images/banners/jds-1.swf&jlink=http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5&userid=7859&bwidth=468&bheight=60" loop="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/get/flashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"  width="468" height="60"></embed></object></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>

Any idea as to why it is still linking to this http://www.kawariders.com.au/rbs_banner.php?id=5 for?

The only time it doesn't link to this address is when I enter in a URL in the banner configuration page where it says.

URL
If you are using an Image banner, please insert here the destination URL.

But then I have the problem of when you click on the banner it loads the banner in a new page as well as the URL in another new page.



Thanks.

Right, this is probably a combination of things. One of the most common errors is to setup banner features which aren't used or necessary, and thus nothing works. Take it easy, it is meant to rotate banners with the least immaginable efford

From your code, I see you have flash banners enabled and also click tracking. But you haven't specified an image, and the landing page is your image. Thus it is absolutely clear a user jumps to the banner

Please disable for a moment all of your banners and create a new one. In the Image field, please paste an URL which goes directly to an image, such as:

http://www.google.com/images/logos/ps_logo2.png

In the URL field, please paste your landing page, such as:

http://www.kawariders.com.au/

In the title, type something which makes sense to users while the mouse is over but not clicked yet. Also, assign a position, if you have more than one. And just save. You should now see the image in your banner location and when you click, go directly to the landing page.

It should now look like (template ad_below_navbar):

Attachment 124592

Attachment 124593

All the rest are extra features, which may replace or extend these basic features in one or another way, and are very similar.

So now, if you have a flash banner and want to wrap it, the swf file URL goes into the Image/ Flash field, and the landing page is URL, and in addition you will click on Flash Banner: yes, and insert the flash dimensions.

If you want click tracking, you enable it as well, which will direct the users to the phantomatic rbs_banner.php?id=xxx script on your site, which is then redirecting to your landing page.

[y2ksw]

Originally Posted by motorola

I've put 2 banners in a position and the second banner appear bellow the first one. ( I put the code in the text field, its right in this way?)

If it is Java script, yes.

You see how this has to be setup with the two default banners coming with the product.